Gloria Mae Speiker

Gloria Mae Speiker entered eternal peace on August 26, 2018 at the age of 73.

She was a loving wife, mother, grandmother, sister, friend and teacher. A visitation will be held on Thursday, August 30, 2018 from 4:00 – 7:00 PM at Ballard-Sunder Funeral & Cremation (4565 Pleasant Street SE) in Prior Lake. Mass of Christian Burial will be held on Friday, August 31, 2018 at 10:30 AM with visitation one-hour prior at Nativity of Our Lord Catholic Church in St. Paul. Father Patrick Hipwell will preside, and Gloria will be laid to rest at Credit River Cemetery in Prior Lake.

On March 12, 1945, Gloria was born to parents John Baptist and Lillian (Haider) Schmid. Gloria was the cutest baby; she had dark curly hair, chubby rosy cheeks, and big round soulful eyes. She grew up in Highland Park with her siblings Sue, John, Mary Ann and Kathy. As a girl, Gloria loved riding the bus to the Minnesota State Fair with her siblings and friends, playing Capture the Flag, attending dances and swimming at Highland Pool, Lake Nokomis, Turtle Lake and Lake Johanna. Gloria was very talented academically and graduated at the top of her class from Our Lady of Peace High School and was a member of National Honor Society and Phi Beta Kappa. Following high school, she attended St. Catherine University majoring in German and History with a teaching certificate and was also a member of Phi Beta Kappa. She would later earn her master’s in education.

As a young woman, Gloria met the love of her life at her sister Mary Ann’s wedding. When Chuck first saw Gloria, she had rollers in her hair and was in an old housecoat, but it was love at first sight. He knew instantly that she was the one for him. A few years later, they exchanged wedding vows at Nativity Catholic Church on June 10, 1967 and started out on a wonderful adventure together.

Chuck and Gloria were blessed with three wonderful children, Marc, Rebecca and Matthew. When their kids were young, they loved going camping. The Speikers took many memorable trips to places like Yellowstone, the Grand Tetons, and the Schmid family cabin on Otter Tail Lake. They also enjoyed family trips to Canada. They would go fishing, play cards and other family games, and just hang out painting rocks (one of Gloria’s creative time-fillers on a rainy day). Gloria never cared where they were as long as they were together as a family. The love of family extended beyond the traditional boundaries – as Gloria always welcomed anyone to sit at the Thanksgiving table to have her famous stuffing and turkey gravy. Chuck and Gloria welcomed the growing family to include their children’s spouses, Jeff, Sasha, and Michelle, and 10 grandchildren as well as many other friends. Throughout the years, Gloria’s focus remained the same – love of family.

Both Chuck and Gloria worked in education, and their jobs brought them to many different communities. Over the years, they lived and worked in Michigan, Washington D.C., Nebraska and Minnesota. Gloria was a master teacher and taught many subjects during her 40-year career, including Chinese, but she was always most passionate about teaching German. She had such a creative way of teaching and helped her students not just learn the language but learn to love the language. She spent many late nights coming up with new and fresh lesson plans. While other teachers often recycled lesson plans year-over-year, Gloria did not. This was a testament to her commitment to her profession and passion for teaching. Throughout her career, Gloria took many students on memorable exchange trips to Germany and other parts of Europe. Gloria spent the last ten years of her teaching career building the German program at Prior Lake Schools.

Gloria loved to travel and always found adventure in life. In early life, she enjoyed spontaneous road trips with Chuck. The adventure of life continued as she went parasailing in Puerto Vallarta, hang-gliding in Rio de Janeiro, swimming with the dolphins in the Florida Keys, and blueberry picking with the brown bears in Northern Ontario.

Gloria had a love of trivia and was once a winner on the T.V. show Jeopardy. She also enjoyed playing the piano, reading and playing word games with her cousins, siblings and kids. She also loved to garden and bird watch.

Condolence Messages

Some people you think will just always be here. Gloria was one of those. Such a great laugh. Such a great smile. Such a light. And such a sharp intellect! One time I asked what she thought was the singlemost important invention in history and she thought for a moment and said “the Gutenberg printing press”. (a German guy of course. and a very insightful answer of course.) God we are going to miss you Glory. Peace and blessings to you and yours.

My Family was lucky enough to be invited to Chuck and Gloria’s anniversary party a few years back and the Speiker Family shared there special day with me and my daughter, another time my family and I were out for a walk in Medford and we stopped by, again Gloria and Chuck invited us in and made us feel welcome, One Thing I wanted to say about Gloria is to me her heart was always warm towards others and I am sure that warmth spread through her family- We are so lucky to have been blessed with her warmth. My heart goes out to your Family. May the Infinite Power Love and Light Shine in your direction.

Gloria was so happy to see everyone at the picnic on 8/12 and visited with all. She wrote on the FB picture I posed that it warmed her heart to see everyone. So glad we all got to see her. We are so sorry for your tremendous loss.

Chuck: our very deepest sympathy to you and your family. Although we never met Gloria I am sure she was a wonderful wife and mother and will be missed beyond words. Our love and prayers, Dale and Bonnie (Blohm) Corning

To Chuck, Becky and Matt’s families we are so sad to learn of Gloria’s passing. She was such a warm welcoming person to us when we moved into the neighborhood 38 years ago. She was a wonderful neighbor who taught many things that helped us adapt to life in Nebraska. We are so grieved by her passing. Blessings, comfort and peace to you all, The Wayne and Joan Carroll Family

My sincere condolences to the family of Chuck Speiker. Gloria taught for many years here at Millard South H.S. and was an outstanding teacher for us. She touched many lives and will be greatly missed. She was very popular and loved her job. God bless. Stan Hale, Vice Principal, Retired.

Gloria had a warm smile and was always fun when we got together to play 500 during the Fall and Winter months in our with other friends. We enjoyed listening about her teaching experiences and her and Chuck’s adventures. She will be missed.

My heartfelt sympathy goes out to all family and friends. May all families look forward to a time in the near future when death will be no more and all sickness will be done away with. Isaiah 25:8 and 33:24. Knowing that there is an opportunity to be reunited with loved ones.

I have just learned of your family loss. I was so sorry to hear this. I know the pain and loss that you feel and will for some time, as I lost my wife, Lucille in 1999. Please know that you and yours are in my prayers for you.

I was a friend of Gloria’s when we were at Our Lady of Peace High School. We lost touch over the years, and I am so grateful to learn what a an amazing woman she became. My heartfelt condolences to her family.

Frau Speiker’s German classes were never dull! She was fun to talk to and gave just as much sass as she got from the high schoolers. A fun spirit who created memories for me all throughout my time at PLHS. My condolences to her family. She will be missed.

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